


fade to grey

by hingabee



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Gen, M/M, general mindfuckery and confusion, ghost adventures!, sad (dead) old men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-27 22:27:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13257888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hingabee/pseuds/hingabee
Summary: He is just a child when he meets him for the first time.





	fade to grey

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TalkingBackwards](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalkingBackwards/gifts).



This time he is no stranger to dying.

Back then it had been hard; a shameful yet calculated defeat; letting himself be killed by something so mundane as simple bullets from a simple gun held by an even simpler man. 

No, not a man, he supposes. 

Maybe his killer has been a creature like himself all along. 

So now that Mantis dies by that same hand again and the familiar sensation of leaving this unfamiliar body fills him or whatever etheral space he may be occupying right now he only feels relief. 

As he looks down on the dying girl beneath him, he decides that unlike the first time this is his final pathetic rest; the need for revenge still fueled by Eli beyond from beyond the grave had driven him this far after opening eyes that were not his own for the first time in a place too bright and too clean to lend any comfort to a human being. 

Though, back then, more than ever, he was everything but that. 

Mantis lets himself let go off the girl, off that awful place and the lingering craving to kill the man who killed Eli; forced him to become a shadow, a phantom and ghost imprisoned in a foreign mind, through illusion and delicate manipulation; all held together by the sick science Mantis has always despised so much.

But that is all irrelevant now; whatever is left of Eli will finally die and be freed by his brother’s now wrinkled hands and join Mantis in his final rest. It may be a hopelessly romantic fantasy, but after all this time Mantis figures he can permit himself this little, pathetic pleasure.

Besides, with that thought stuck to the back of his mind he he can greet Death with open arms; this time without experiencing the rare guilt which accompanied leaving Eli behind that first time… .

Death, apparently, does not want to greet him back though; just turns his pale face away and motions for Mantis to follow.

And against his own will he does.

-

He is just a child when he meets him for the first time; of course this Death is not the one he has met as an infant; the one that kept him in his clutches for years and years until finally igniting a fire within to spread from his fingers to the ground to the sky; all shades of red and orange and yellow painting the winter sky against snow and ashes.

But this is different; this one is a man and not a force behind his eyes; trailing after the sound of ringing spurs on top of an abomination made of steel and concrete in the middle of the sea. The third child is still weak from sharing his mind and soul with his new friend; body aching in the most satisfying and horrible way as he watches the waves of the ocean and creatures below his naked feet. 

Nobody has seen him yet, not even the animals notice him as he floats by but the man; Death; turns and smiles at the child; eyes and face shadowed by his hood as he disappears into nothingness.

-

"He will not follow you here." Says Death quietly and smiles at him just like he did all these lifetimes ago; eyes bloodshot behind his broken glasses, reflecting a sourceless light. 

Mantis knows what these Russian words mean, but he does not _understand_ and pushes further; tries to analyse this being in front and around of him as he follows into the darkness; the unbelievable quiet of his own mind disturbing him more than the steady hum of voices he has carried around all his life.

He is met with a familiar feeling; as if hitting his head against a solid wall the mental assault is turned back against him, followed by something that might be pity.

"Even if he wanted to, it is not possible for him."

Mantis shakes his head and laughs; the painfully rasping sounds echoing through the empty room. 

" _That is ridiculous. Of course Eli wants to see me again, he needs me._ "

As Death chuckles; a hollow sound that fills Mantis mind and that strange energy serving as his body; the darkness around them changes and bright light burns downwards from an open sky.

"Not all humans can cross into the world of the dead." Death moves over the sprouting greens and through the lush undergrowth of the jungle; his voice falling into place with the sounds of screaming birds and the buzzing of insects.

Mantis stops beside him and takes in the delirious and intoxicatingly sweet smell of plants; thick like syrup; the drowsy light and the moist warmth that rest so heavy and like dust on his skin. 

Death speaks again; quietly this time.

"No matter how much they crave to stay; all of them eventually pass on. Even the ones that kept their hearts and minds tied to yours in life."

There is a certain nostalgic melancholy to his words and Mantis tries to ignore that overly orotund way of phrasing to let his curiosity press closer. 

"Beings like us on the other hand," Death continues as he leans down and cradles a white flower in his hands as if about to pick it; then lets go and turns back to Mantis with a somber smile on his face. "It is truly sad. We can not leave this place between worlds; all that is left is to guide the lost souls of battle to rest."

Getting increasingly frustrated at this pathetic excuse of a fourth and final Horseman; incomplete without his pale steed; Mantis recoils in a wave of irritation and crosses his arms as if he is being insulted.

" _He will come back to me; he always did, no matter what made him leave before, Eli returns to **me**_."

Death smirks knowingly at him for a second and then turns back to his flowers; when he finally speaks it seems as if he is idly talking to the star-shaped blooms dancing between his slender fingers.

"I can sense what is left of him right now; it is only a blurred print; a phantom if you will; of his former self." 

The world around them changes again. 

Floating high up in the air now, Mantis can see the ocean's orange glow beneath them; a collossal eyesore of metal and war growing out of the unruly waters like a nasty weed wanting to be ripped out and thrown away.

_Burn it. Burn it all down._ says the only voice still left behind his mask and he shakes his head and turns his to watch Death point down to the fight raging below. 

"So intricately tied to someone else; tied to me through the hands of another... . It won't take long for him to lose his last grip on the living; he will carry over to where the rest of him lies." 

Mantis feels fury; pain; fear; a hoarse scream rising in his throat, hands balled to fists and the need to destroy everything inside and around him as he pushes against Death and his meaningless words; stumbles over his emotions that are finally and ultimately and for the first time _his_ , and his alone, as he is torn apart by them with a violent tremor; crashing down into nothing. 

\- 

He comes to in the jungle; the wet warmth of the ground beneath him clinging to his unreal body as he sits up and tries to focus his eyes on something that is not the pulsating green of life around him. 

"It is over now. Some are still stumbling; lost and scared; but they too will soon find their way." Death mumbles behind him and Mantis turns to watch him sprawled out in those terrible flowers of his; watching the clouds like some oversized, wrinkly child all dressed in black. 

" _Let me leave. Now._ " 

Death looks at him with a frown, a wistful expression spreading across his tired features. 

"I am in no position to do that, boy. I can only help you to exist, not undo your presence all together." A gloved hand comes to rest on Mantis knee in what he can only assume is a gesture of reassurance.

He slaps it away.

Death continues. 

"But to truly control yourself and the world around you; to reach the Dead and the Living alike; you will have to let go of your burdens and ease into the place that was made for you."

The buzzing and humming of nature infiltrates Mantis' mind and he leans closer to listen more carefully to the old man's words. 

"I can teach you how to be and create; though you will have to realise that even someone as powerful as you can not act beyond the final line. You might never see him; them; even if you can reach far beyond every other soul in your way. " 

He feels himself be touched again but before he can object Death sighs quietly and smiles. 

"If you can not accept this, you will always carry that sorrow with you."

Despite the urgency of the voice behind his mask, this time Mantis allows the brush of fingers against his body; his consciousness; and latches onto Death; no; the _man's_ mind in his desperate hunger.

" _Very well. Teach me, old man._ " he whispers.

And the Sorrow does.

**Author's Note:**

> this got way cheesier than originally intended also sorry for using a visage song as title but ive had that song stuck in my head all day and if i sits i fits  
> also i might do more of this bc...... it was rly fun


End file.
